International partnerships, collaborative learning, and interactive communications technology: using a Global Forum on School Leadership to enhance the preparation of school leaders

Challenging tomorrow's school leaders to develop deep understanding and respect for alternative conceptions and responses to everyday leadership issues is a major undertaking. Incorporating layers of deep reflection in exchange for surface learning approaches to common practices and everyday events in the life of school leaders amounts to a challenge against the status quo of leadership tradition. This paper presents a description of the rationale and developmental stages of the Global Forum on School Leadership. Conceived as an extension to the existing reflective and dialogic practices of a pre-service leader preparation program in the mid-west of the United States, the forum attempts to incorporate die perspectives of global colleagues on issues related to everyday practices and school leadership conundrums in a mediated, asynchronous, web-based discussion format. This project adds a needed global orientation to leadership preparation in a post September 11th international context.